Evaporator Core Leaking
 

Good day
05 Suburban, 4x4, 5.3 liter, my brides daily driver. Last month reported no a/c, I found compressor was not running, Our mechanic found a "small leak" at the evaporator core with a dye test. Said many hours labor involved since need to remove dash to get to heater box. He was hoping leak was small enough and under low pressure so a charge would last a while w/o repair. Two weeks later a/c is not working again, so looks like leak is worse than expected.
Can this be a DYI project and are there any other options.
thanks, Red

system sealer is the only alternative and its not something I would use unless I had no other choice. If sealer is in your system, no shop will work on your system again as it will damage a/c charging stations. You would have to fill the system yourself.
When sealer meets air, it solidifies and forms a seal. the proper method is to replace part and not use sealer. If you want to try a cheap fix, that may or may not work...be aware of the repercussions of its use.


evap replacement is a big job but doable.
its takes 8 hours to complete. service information would be nice to have to tackle this job.
the steering column must be lowered, dash pulled back to allow for the hvac case to be removed. the hvac case is them split open to access the evaporator.


be careful removing the heater core hoses and they are fragile at 11 years old.

Thanks Tech! Sounds like a job for a mechanic, not a veterinarian. That would definitely cut in to my water ski time! He suggests changing the heater core while there. Sounds like a smart idea.

...yep

Watched a video of the procedure today - way too many things to go wrong in my hands and would probably take me 2 weeks to get it right - I'm sure my wife would be less than satisfied with the results. I imagine there are not many mechanics that enjoy this part of their job. Wouldn't you think some smart designer would make this area just a little easier to access?!

Its definitely tideous, you'd be in shock how many things require dash removal or atleast loosening on newer vehicles. I'd much rather pull a dash than do air/water leaks or noise diag.

So anything else besides evap core & heater core you would change as long as it's torn apart?

Wouldn't hurt to replace all the door actuators on the HVAC housing since they would be very accessible